In this unedited interview for Austin’s KVUE-TV, Roy Faires sits down with Clown Prince of Baseball Max Patkin to talk about his role in the baseball movie Bull Durham (1988). The film, starring Kevin Costner and Susan Sarandon, was partly shot in Arlington, including scenes at Six Flags Over Texas. Patkin discusses his history with baseball, from pitcher to coach to baseball clown, and what he thinks is wrong with the sport today. Faires worked as a special project director and entertainment critic/reporter at KVUE-TV, Austin’s ABC affiliate, from 1976-1989.
The Austin Braves was a Minor league baseball team in the East Division of the Texas League from 1956-1968. Originally known as the Austin Senators, the team became the Braves in 1965, matching the mascot of their affiliated major league team, the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves. The Braves played at Disch Field in Austin, which opened in 1947 and was named after baseball player and former University of Texas coach William John Disch. After two losing seasons in 1967 and 1968, the Braves moved to Shreveport, Louisiana, where they played from 1968-1970. Notable members of the Austin Braves who played in the major league include Dusty Baker, Bobby Cox, Ralph Garr, Clarence Gaston, Mike Lum, Felix Millan, Ron Reed, and George Stone. In 2000, a Braves baseball team returned to Austin with the establishment of the Austin Braves Baseball Club, an amateur baseball team that competes in the Austin Metro Baseball League 35+ division.